Jenna Koelsch scored the game tying goal in her first game of the season, and senior Courtney Jones scored the game winner just minutes later Thursday night to lift the Ionia soccer team to a 2-1 win over Portland.

"We have had a few games this season where we have needed to comeback late, so the girls have been in that situation before,"

Ionia coach Scott Sarka said. "Even though playing from behind isn't something you want to have to do a lot, it is nice to know that the girls have the character to not get down or start pressing when in that situation, but continue to work hard and battle."

The game was played at Lloyd T. Smith Memorial Field, marking the first time the Lady Dawgs played under the lights. The boys soccer team has played there the past few seasons as part of Community Awareness Week.

The game was scoreless for the first 70 minutes of play until Portland senior Nicole Green scored on a penalty kick after being taken down inside the box. The score gave Portland a 1-0 lead.

The advantage stood for the Raiders until Koelsch's goal with four minutes left.

The game was the second soccer contest to feature late fireworks at Lloyd T. Smith this year. In the Bulldog men's purple game against Owosso in late September, Ionia had to rally from a two-goal halftime deficit to top the Trojans 3-2 in overtime.

Sarka said his players wanted to make it a special night for not only themselves, but the Bulldog fans in attendance as well.

"We were excited about playing under the lights and we wanted to make sure it ended with a good result," he said. "Not only for us, but those members of the community that came out to support us."

Ionia goalkeeper Katie Robinson made five saves in net, only giving up the score on Green's PK.

The Bulldogs (5-3-2) insure themselves a winning regular-season record with the victory with only one game remaining before Capital Area Activities Conference Cup play begins.

Ionia will travel to Lake Odessa on Tuesday to take on the Vikings of Lakewood. The Bulldogs will begging CAAC Cup tournament play on Thursday. The site and opponent for their first-round match will be determined next week.